In Andhra Pradesh, many are deprived of benefits due to ‘erroneous’ Aadhaar seeding

Beneficiaries demand solution, stage protest at Discom office

09/04/2020, SANTOSH PATNAIK,VISAKHAPATNAM

Seeking justice: People queuing up outside the office of the Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Board in Visakhapatnam on WednesdayK.R. Deepak

Bhagavata Radha lives in a ramshackle rented house at Neralakoneru in Allipuram area. With her husband, a painter, left without a source of income due to the lockdown, she is now wondering how much longer their family can sustain themselves.

“We have two daughters. As five electricity consumer numbers have been seeded to our Aadhaar, we have been deprived of benefits being given by the government to beneficiaries,” Radha told The Hindu on Wednesday.

She was among many who vented out their woes at the APEPDCL office in Pandimetta for being left out of government benefits after multiple electricity service numbers were ‘erroneously’ seeded to their name. The government, due to the COVID-19 crisis, has decided to give 20 kg rice and one kg of red gram free to the white card holders. This apart, ₹1,000 cash benefit is also given. Selection of beneficiaries for house-sites has also been finalised.

The ward secretariat has informed Lanka Raju, an auto-rickshaw driver, that his ration card will be cancelled as three power connections were seeded to his Aadhaar number.

“I have been deprived of the benefits due to this problem,” bemoaned Lanka Raju who lives in a rented house at Venkateswarmetta. It’s a different story for K. Bhaskar Rao, who works at an automobile showroom. “I was given a house under the Rajiv Gruhakalpa scheme at Marikivalasa. Apart from a grant of ₹15,000 under Amma Vodi scheme, ration and other benefits being extended to those having white ration cards have also been denied to me. The reason being cited is that I apparently own three houses as three electricity service connections are seeded to my Aadhaar number,” he said. An official of APEPDCL clarified that at the time of distribution of LED bulbs, some persons might have fraudulently claimed the bulbs by citing Aadhaar numbers of other individuals.